Sample Student Poetry Comparison Essay​

Langston Hughes’ Approach on Social Inequality

Throughout history, Americans have experienced first-hand the importance of civic engagement when battling social issues and discrimination. During the Harlem Renaissance, one of the most influential movements in American history, African Americans confronted the issue of social inequality with an artistic style. As African Americans began to flee the southern lands, they were inspired to show their talents and express their emotions in forms of art: they expressed their struggles with discrimination, injustice and violence through songs and poetry. They also created communities, reflected on their past, and realized they were not alone in battle for equality. Langston Hughes, a well-known poet and playwright, emerged during the Harlem Renaissance: his lyric poems focused on the everyday struggles of African Americans throughout the country during the early 1900’s. In two of his most famous poems, “Ballad of the Landlord” and “I, Too”, Hughes writes about two situations which both tie back to the issue of social inequality. The poems carry a strong tone, which not only showed Hughes’ frustration on discrimination, but served as a way to unite African Americans who have experienced similar situations.

The main speakers in “Ballad of the Landlord” and “I, Too” are African American males. Having an African American speaker in both poems shows that Hughes wants readers to see the poem through the eyes of these two characters. For example, in “Ballad of the Landlord”, the African American male is a tenant who is experiencing issues with his landlord. The race of both speakers are not addressed at the beginning of the poem, but knowing Hughes’ topics of interest, the reader can assume the tenant is an African American male and the landlord is a white male. Then, the reader can clearly determine the races of both individuals based on the last lines of the poem which say “MAN THREATENS LANDLORD” and “JUDGE GIVES NEGRO 90 DAYS IN COUNTY JAIL” (31,33). These two lines appear to be the headlines of a newspaper. The headlines address the landlord as just a landlord, while the tenant is addressed by the color of his skin. The differentiation between the races set by the media shows the amount of racism in the community. The poem “I, Too”, also includes a main speaker of the same race. The poem begins with “I am the darker brother” which clearly serves as an indicator to the reader that the speaker is an African American male (2). The following line in the “I, Too” poem, Hughes’ writes, “They send me to eat in the kitchen / When company comes” (3-4). This gives the reader the idea that the speaker works as a servant for a white family. Both of these speakers created by Hughes a very realistic: African Americans were typically of lower social status compared to whites and whites owned most of the American land and businesses. The social gap resembled in these two poems is an accurate picture of America during this era.

In both of Hughes’ poems, the speakers’ experience similar conflicts. In “Ballad of the Landlord”, the landlord refuses to acknowledge the issues the tenant is experiencing in the home. The first two stanzas in this poem begin with “Landlord, Landlord” showing the tenants attempt to get his attention (1). Then in the next three stanzas, the tenant begins to get frustrated as the landlord threatens to kick him out. After all the landlord’s threats, the tenant makes his own threat; Hughes writes, “You ain’t gonna be able to say a word / If I land my fist on you” (19-20). The tenant is quickly placed in jail for threatening the landlord. The situation in the poem “I, Too” has a more positive perspective to the situation than in the poem “Ballad of the Landlord”. In “I, Too” the servant is told to stay in the kitchen when guests arrive. However, the servant has hope: Hughes writes, “Tomorrow, / I’ll sit at the table” (8-9). Although the speaker is experiencing discrimination because of his race and economic status, he believes that one day he will be seen as an equal to his white employers. Hughes ends the “I, Too” poem with a strong message; he writes “I, Too, am America” (18). These last four words show the servant’s pride for his country and leaves the reader on a positive and powerful outlook on the servant’s situation. Although the poems have slightly different endings, the speakers in both poems are dealing with the same conflict: social inequality.

Another similar characteristic in “Ballad of the Landlord” and “I, Too” is the use of enjambment. Enjambment is when a poem goes from one line to another without punctuation. For example, in “Ballad of the Landlord” Hughes writes “Well, that’s Ten Bucks more’n I’ll pay you / Til you fix this house up new” (11-12). An example in the poem “I, Too”, Hughes writes “But I laugh, / And eat well, / And grow strong” (5-7). The break between the lines without punctuation helps in creating more emphasis to the words of the poem, which create a strong tone. Also, when a person reads the poem aloud, they slightly pause when going from one line to another. This short pause helps the reader understand what Hughes is trying say. In “Ballad of the Landlord”, we can hear the frustration in the speaker’s voice, and in “I, Too” we can hear the speaker’s desire for unity. Hughes wants his target audience to feel the emotion of the characters and be empowered to make a change.​ “Ballad of the Landlord” and “I, Too” served as the perfect examples on the controversial issues going on in the United States during the Harlem Renaissance. Even though Hughes uses African American speakers in his poems, any race who has experienced discrimination and is battling for equality can relate to these characters. In addition, readers who have not experienced discrimination can sense the frustration and hopefulness in Hughes’ poems. This artistic approach gives the reader a glimpse into another life, and helps shed light on a controversial issue that Hughes believes should not be ignored, but confronted with pride.